After Noah Lyles won bronze in the 200-meter final Thursday night at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, he revealed that he ran the race after testing positive for COVID.
He explained to commentator Lewis Johnson that he “never considered” bowing out of the race, despite receiving the diagnosis two days ago.
“I woke up early, about 5 a.m. on Tuesday morning, and I just was feeling really horrible again, and I knew it was more than just being sore from [running] the 100,” the masked athlete told Johnson.
“I woke up the doctors, and we tested, and unfortunately, it came up that I was positive for COVID. My first thought was not to panic, thinking, you know, I’ve been in worse situations. I’ve run with worse conditions I felt, and we just took it day by day, trying to hydrate as much [as possible] and stay quarantined,” Lyles continued.
He admitted that the virus “has taken its toll,” but that he’s “never been more proud of myself for being able to come out here and getting a bronze medal.”
Lyles won Sunday’s 100m race in a photo finish that was later measured to be a mere five-thousandths of a second. However, he has said he is likely out of the 4 x 100m relay.
“At the moment, I don’t know, I’m feeling more on the side of you know, letting Team USA do their thing,” he told Johnson. “They’ve proven with a great certainty that they can handle it without me. And if that’s the case, coming off today, then I’m perfectly fine saying, ‘Hey, you guys, go do your thing. You guys have more than enough speed to be able to handle it. Get the gold medal, right?’”
“I believe this will be the end of my 2024 Olympics. It is not the Olympic I dreamed of but it has left me with so much Joy in my heart. I hope everyone enjoyed the show,” Lyles later added on Instagram. “Whether you were rooting for me or against me, you have to admit you watched, didn’t you?”
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday that 40 Olympic athletes have tested positive for the virus. Host country France did not require those who tested positive to drop out, but merely recommend they self-isolate, according to US News.
